
Justin is a London based dad of three. As well as being a content creator, he's also interested in all things tech, law, software engineering, and photography related, and likes to cycle in his free time.

Through his content, Justin aims to show the true reality of personal parenting alongside fun activity recommendations to do as a family. He focuses a lot on sustainability as his family tries to live in an environmentally conscious way.

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Justin


A SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL review. (written in partnership with Southbank International School)

I recently read a very interesting article about state funded schools adapting too slowly to the realities of the world, the conclusion being that the curriculum has had too little-a-change from the initial design which, as its main aim, was supposed to get students ready for, and coping with, a factory environment. With no factories in sight for quite some time now, that education system is rendered mostly inapt. “Web 3.0” is in the works, social media is encompassing every aspect of work and home life, there is continuing progress in gender equalities at board levels and more and more people are demanding flex-work. We have never felt more the need of a better suited education model to get today’s students ready for today’s realities.

![south-bank-international](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611946281/Picture4_81e9df1f8b.jpg)

Since we started looking at schools for our son who is now four, I set out to identify one to reassure me that it’s implementing a system that works around the child’s individualism inasmuch as it attempts to prepare him to adapt to an ever-evolving society. We’re pretty lucky to be in London, and this is by all means a city of choice. After a long research on schools, I’m thrilled to be able to share my review on possibly the finest school program we’ve seen: Southbank International School(link).

It’s been a while since we started looking into schooling options for Lucas. Last week we’ve visited Southbank Kensington which ticked most of our boxes. I have also managed to get an insightful interview with Siobhan McGrath who is working at the Southbank International School as Executive Principal.

WHICH ARE THE TOP 3 SCHOOL VALUES?

Southbank International School is committed to academic excellence, a liberal ethos and the values of the International Baccalaureate.

WHAT IS THE SCHOOL’S PRIMARY FOCUS IN RESPECT OF ACADEMIC DELIVERY?

Our primary focus is for our students to enjoy learning. They are exposed to a very broad curriculum that offers challenge, fosters critical thinking, encourages questioning and allows them to pursue their own areas of interest. Our students are encouraged from the beginning to develop independent learning habits and to be able to self-regulate. As they graduate on to university and then work, the skillset they have developed makes it much easier for them to do well than students who have been spoon fed.

![south-bank-international](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611946280/Picture1_7e04f7a0f2.jpg)

PARENTS LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR CHILDREN’S SCHOOL BUILDING MORAL VALUES IN ADDITION TO SIMPLY PROVIDING EDUCATION. HOW INVOLVED CAN PARENTS BE AND HOW IS THE SCHOOL SUPPORTING THEIR BUSY LIFESTYLE?

All three schools have a very active PTA who organize events for children, staff and other parents. As we have a multi-national parent/student body, parents can often also feel unsettled when they move to London. New families are put in touch with buddies – other parents with the same nationality if possible – before they actually join the school to help them settle. There are many social events/clubs for parents such as coffee mornings, and there is also a London exploration Society led by one of our teachers where they are able to explore places of interest in London.Close links are established between home and school in relation to student learning, especially in the primary schools.

HOW ARE PUPILS ASSESSED?

The most important thing we do in the classroom is to conduct ongoing assessment. We find out where are students are in their learning and move them on from that point. All good teachers do this, but it is especially relevant in an international school where children arrive from all different types of schools and in different stages of their learning. In Primary Years, students’ progress is assessed by their teachers as they go alongand by the use of pre-assessments to find out what they already know. The curriculum is then adapted based on their prior knowledge. Parents are informed of progress regularly via parent/teacher conferences, student conferences and termly reports. There are also summative assessments to evaluate student learnings at the end of each unit of inquiry.

In Middle Years, students have end of year exams.

In the Diploma Programme pupils have full school reports, parent teacher conferences, interim grades and mock exam results in Grade 12.

HOW IS TECHNOLOGY USED TO ENHANCING THE LEARNING PROCESS?

In Primary Years all students are given iPads or laptops depending on age and in Middle and Diploma Years all students are given laptops. We use Google Apps for education and Google drive for collaborative working. We use aprogramme called SeeSaw in Early Childhood to keep parents informed on their child’progress. We also have 3D printers andlasercut printers which are used for design.

ARE NON-ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS ENCOURAGED AND SUPPORTED?

Yes, we very much encourage and support non-academic engagements. Extra-Curricular activities are very much part of the IB programme and especially encouraged in the Diploma Years where pupils have to take CAS (CommunityAction, Service)in order to complete the programme.

WHAT MAKES SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL’S SYSTEM THE BETTER CHOICE FOR LONDON PARENTS WHO ARE CONSIDERING PRIVATE EDUCATION?

We offer the IB curriculum at Southbank, a system for those who want to give their children the best possible start in life, both academically and personally. It is a curriculum that encourages its students to do more than blindly accept what is put in front of them. It nurtures within its students their natural capacity to question, to inquire, to be inquisitive and to think independently, critically and creatively.

At Southbank, we teach children more than how to simply pass an exam. We give students the skills to answer life’s questions, not just those written on an examination paper for them to forget about upon leaving the examination hall. We are focused on high academic attainment while also having a truly holistic approach to learning.

The IB is also the perfect solution to many difficulties faced by the many International families in London. Having been originally established as a direct response to what is often a severe lack of flexibility in varying school systems around the world, the IB is now recognised in more than 100 countries around the world.

Unlike a lot of UK based systems, the IB does not focus on one single world view or history within its subjects, but is instead much more globally minded, thus creating more globally rounded and internationally minded students.

![south-bank-international](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611946280/Picture3_9f0007ffe3.jpg)

I should have also mentioned that I’ve pretty much been in school my entire life, including when we had Lucas four years ago as I was about to finalize my Legal Practice Course. This educational process was longer for me not because I was undecided about which path to take, but because I began my educational journey within a rather strict system which didn’t offer much guidance as to options I could consider at key points in time.

I remember vividly the day I arrived at my boarding school, the smile on my parents’ faces in that contrasting sheer discipline air that emanated from every brick in the surrounding fence. Designed to instill leadership qualities into every pupil and reward high-achievers alone, it was very much different from my earlier experience of education into a state funded school. At that point in my life I knew the importance of finding for my children a school to deliver the best of both my pre-and-post boarding experiences.

On the other hand, Southbank International seems to be a different type of school which nurtures children’s early interests and curiosity by making London its classroom. Children are exposed to a healthy variety of city events and historical places, from galleries, museums and landmarks. The school itself is very different, no uniform, and children are able to move freely inside their classrooms.

There are three campuses in the heart of London attended by more than 700 students aged from 3 to 19. Southbank Kensington, the one we’ve seen, is aimed for 3–11-year-olds, within walking distance to Notting Hill Gate tube station and the very first school in the UK authorised to offer all three International Baccalaureate program. At one point during our site visit at Southbank Kensington, we entered one of the classrooms where there was written: ‘Learning another language is like becoming another person’, Haruki Murakami. Rather appropriate considering there’s also 70 nationalities attending and staff members who have already lived and worked overseas.

[Here](https://southbank.org)’s more on what the school program has to offer.


I recently read a very interesting article about state funded schools adapting...

Today’s education, tomorrow’s fine generation


> LET’S BE HONEST – FOR ALL THE INNOVATION OF THE INTERNET AGE, PARENTING IS STILL ONE OF THE TOUGHEST GIGS AROUND - says [Bubble](http://joinbubble.com/we-are-bubble/) and I can’t agree more.

As a new and first time dad, I’ve learnt the hard way that the life of a parent is mainly organised chaos (if you’re lucky enough to learn how to organise it!). I’ve also learnt that one should not miss the spontaneity of the right moment to unwind and take it all in: the noise, the sore muscle, the eye circle, the tantrum, the cuddle, the first tooth. The white nights...

![babysitting-bubble-004.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611946284/toys_1903273_1280_51da1e8cc7.jpg)

But as a young couple sharing a tiny human, we have been both struggling to find out how to make time for each other and most importantly, how to make the most of each other, because truth being told, we have also been discovering the heavy weight of ‘now’ in parenthood and the dangers of procrastinating the ‘us only time’! Of course, the child is now part of a heavily altered routine and more steam, focussed attention and even (here goes the cheesiness!) our full hearts and souls are now much needed to be shared. Our bodies too – because rocking a baby to sleep for over two hours numbs your arms (and will power), and those ribs that suffer massively during cosleeping with a drunk octopus called A TODDLER, are getting tired (stole the comparison from AllMumsTalk, shhh).

![babysitting-bubble](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611944788/characters_1853286_1280_b868403794.jpg)

Nevertheless dating was never easy for us, even before parenthood took over, we both had a tendency of over working and starting several projects on our own, so adding a baby to the equation was indeed ... rather brave. I started on the wrong foot by missing all her doctor’s appointments and scans during pregnancy, forget about scary antenatal appointments talking dad’s role and birth support – I didn’t even know I had to have an opinion on how a baby should be, well, delivered into the world! I was instead coming home late and she was sleeping, mornings were hectic, arguments and frustrations were at their peak. We had blamed it on our lack of parenthood knowledge and different, higher expectations; the new arrival was becoming increasingly overwhelming, and still it was a wakeup call – THE wake up call, one that we clearly heard after his first birthday when we understood life is more than sharing parental duties, more than work, commuting, or scheduling weekend trips well in advance and pretty much everything else we knew before. It was high time we started dating like all parents should: more often, less planning, more action.

![babysitting-bubble](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611944785/cat_woman_1115933_960_720_dd7df7518f.jpg)

Do or do not, there is no try – keeping Yoda’s wisdom in mind is rather a clever way to remind ourselves we need to disconnect, recharge batteries and keep the couple’s sparkle on. Aiming for a good night out and long uninterrupted adult conversations may not be enough, but it’s now pretty much on our weekly list. We sometimes fail at catching up with each other because of glorious nursery bugs that the toddler is generously sharing with all of us (grand perks of parenthood), but most often we make it happen. Living in London, far away from both our families means we are constantly finding ourselves stuck to a tricky routine ruled by our worries around a child, while we tend to make excuses not to make dating any easier. But that’s not what Yoda would do ... So date or date not, there is no try; when excuses start building up, pick up the phone looking for help – nothing wrong in sourcing a friend or a trusted professional sitter to come and save the day ... or date!

![babysitting-bubble](https://res.cloudinary.com/dpgowkqsr/image/upload/v1611946282/star_wars_1176168_1280_2c7b073e7d.jpg)

This article has been published in partnership with Bubble, you can download the brilliant app [here](http://joinbubble.com/). The app connects parents and sitters to each other via mutual friends and contacts. This allows parents to tap into the trusted sitters their friends already know and use. Bubble is mainly London-centric at the moment, but it will be rolling out to the rest of the UK soon, so watch this space!

![justin-and-lucas-in-the-air](/images/justin-and-lucas-in-the-air.webp)

Both I, here at AllDadsTalk, and [Bubble](http://joinbubble.com/) team would love to hear how you manage to find time with your other half. Share your stories on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #datelikeaparent. Read more reviews and engage with other users on Bubble’s [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/bubble.babysitting/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf) page. We’ll share all of your posts!


As a new and first time dad, I’ve learnt the hard way that the life of a parent is mainly...

Today’s education, tomorrow’s fine generation

Date or date not, there is no try